Headache for Salzburg as tournament rivals change coaches

Austrian side RB Salzburg's performance analysis department began early preparations for their opponents in the Club World Cup, but the fact that all their group rivals have changed coaches has added a huge element of uncertainty, said their coach Thomas Letsch.

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SALZBURG - Austrian side RB Salzburg's performance analysis department began early preparations for their opponents in the Club World Cup, but the fact that all their group rivals have changed coaches has added a huge element of uncertainty, said their coach Thomas Letsch.

Salzburg qualified for the revamped tournament in the United States based on Uefa club rankings, completing the list of 12 participating European teams.

They are in Group H alongside Real Madrid, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Mexico's Pachuca.

Those three teams share several traits: All of them changed their coach before the tournament and have reached either the final of the old-format Club World Cup or Intercontinental Cup at least once.

"Since all three opponents have changed their coaches not too long ago, we had to forget everything we had prepared about them," Letsch told Reuters.